Stone looks to solidify Rock's consumer grip

The success of Rock as a retail brand will be driven by its push into the education sector, according to the newly appointed commercial director of parent firm Stone Group, Keith Collins.

"What we're looking for is a halo effect, as such," Collins told PC Retail. "We will be positioning Rock as our mobile brand, regardless of whether it is a consumer product or an education product. We're hoping that by having a dual channel strategy for the brand we will see cross over sales."

Collins explained that one of the targets of the dual channel strategy was to increase brand awareness around the Rock brand. "If a family is looking for a new laptop and their child recognises Rock and gives their parents the confidence to purchase a brand they might not have otherwise heard of, then it will have been successful. Either way, we want to maintain and grow our consumer business, there is no question about that."

However, it isn't just the consumer market that the firm is targeting, as Collins continues to explain: "While, Rock will become the mobile brand for Stone, our other recent purchase Compusys will become the group's infrastructure brand, leaving Stone as our desktop brand. We have a very straightforward strategy for the companies that we are buying, in that they are becoming product brands."